Railway-car control apparatus.



J. B. ATWUOD. RAILWAY CAB CONTROL APPARATU. APPLICATION FILED mm. a,1907.

Patented Mar. 22, 1910.

JOHN BAIBD ATWOOD, 0F ALLEGHENY, PENNSYLVANIA.

RAILWAY-CAR CONTROL APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 22, 1910.

Application filed December 9, 1907. Serial No. 405,668.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN BAIRD A'rwoon, a citizen of the United States,residing at Allegheny, in the State of Pennsylvania, have invented acertain new and useful Improvement in Railway-Car Control Apparatus, ofwhich the following is a specification.

My invention relates to means acting from outside of the car forretarding or stopping cars on tracks, and especial] to stationary trackbrakes for use in switch yards.

This invention is a further improvement on the devices of priorapplication No. 330,917, filed Aug. 16th, 1906; and its primary 'objectsare, to provide a track brake more eflicient in action and'easier uponthe car wheels, and a brake which operates automatically by means ofelectrical or other self-operated devices.

Further objects are to improve the construction of the brake itself andof the operating means therefor, in order to-more efliciently use thepower and handle the brake with more certainty.

In the accompanying drawing Figure 1 is a plan view of a portion oftrack and of the brake in one form, and showing in dia am the locationof certain other parts. ig. .2 is a Vertical section throu h the trackand brake underacar wheel, andshowing the position of a car wheelthereon. F1 3, 4, and 5 are detached views of modifie forms of brakeoperating means.

It will be understood that the invention is especially useful onthe'switches of railway yards, where it is desired to retard or stopcars at various points and to release them to continue down the ads onthe switch at will. It is especia ly desirable that such brakes beoperated from a distance and requireno attendants,v either on the car orin the yard. y

In the accompanying drawing, referrin to Figs. 1 and 2, I provide withinthe tree rails 6, referably resting upon'the ties 7, a pair 0 brake bars8 which have flared'ends and are conveniently made in the'form shown inFig. 2, having preferably soft iron renewable wearingfaces 9 to engagethe wheel ofa car. It is to be especial noted that the brake bar 8engages the w eel 10 somewhat above the line of the top of the rail, sothat it comes in contact not with the dead point of the wheel as itmovesbut with the two parts of the periplier widely separated,

and in rapid motion; t is is to increase the effectiveness of the brake.The brake bars 8 may be operated by means of toggle links 11, which areivoted in any convenient Way to the bra e bar, and referably inclinedagainst the direction of the cars motion, and at their meeting ends theyare pivoted preferably with a knuckle joint to the main thrust bar 12.The links 11 may be of any number desired and the bar 12 and brake bars8- are preferably long enough to enga e all the wheels of a car at once.While t 1e bar is here shown as a thrust bar, the operating means mayobviously be placed at the front end and operate by pullmg the bar 12.At one end of the thrust bar 12 it may rest upon a plate 13 having anupturned flange 14, through which the bar extends and against which anyconvenient form of spring 15, may rest and by engaging the collar 16 onthe outer end of the bar 12 will normally keep the bar 12 thrust. backin position to withdraw the brake bars from en 'agin position. W'hen anordinary air-braIte cvdinder 20 is used, however, this is not needed. Itwill be understood that the bar 8 may be provided with any convenientmeans for support and guidance, such as a plate 8 on the tie providedwith a slot engaging the pin 11 of the link 11.

For operating the bar 12 I may employ various devices, and forsimplicity Fig. 1 shows a cam plate 17 pivoted on one of the cross-ties7 and having an arm 18 wh1ch 1s linked to the. piston rod 19 of an aircylinder 20. Compressed air may be provided from any source such as anauxiliary reservoir R or from the operating tower indicated at T. Theair is controlled by any convenient form of valve 21, which may beoperated by an electrical device such as a solenoid 22. .In order tomake the operation automatic, I prefer to provide ll'lSlh. lation 23 forthe two rails 6 and make electrical connections 24 so that the solenoidis automatically operated by the car wheels 10 and axle 10' or the brakemaking circuit across the rails 6, as will appear from F 15. 2. Thiswill cause the yalve 21 to 0 en a lmi-tting air to turn the cam 17 anthrust the brake against the wheels as soon as the first wheel entersthe brake.

More eflicient means for operatm the thrust bar by the brake cylinder,are own in Figs. 3, 4, and 5. In Fi 3 the end of the thrust bar 12 isprovide with two pair of toggle links 25 and 26. These are fixed at 27to one of the cross-ties, which also may su port the brake cylinder 20.The piston rod 19 is rovided with a pair of toggle links 28, w ich arepivoted to the meeting ends of links 25, 26. It will thus be evidentthat in the position shown in Fig. 3 these latter links will be pushedout into alined position thrusting the bar 12 forward and in thisposition all strains are practically relieved from the brake cylinder,and also as the brakes approach the position of great est pressure, thepower of the levers increases to a high maximum. When the piston rod 19is withdrawn, the toggle joints are broken and take the position shownin dotted lines. With this form of device there are no parts needinglubrication and no parts that can get out of order, and the operation istrustworthy and exact, meeting the conditions of use exactly byproviding the heavy pressure at the exact time when it is needed, andmaking easy release not depending upon sprin s.

In Fig. 4 I have s own a series of toggle levers 29 their ends beingfixed at 30 and which may be operated by levers 31 by means of the linksshown and provide very much multiplied power when moved by the pistonrod 19. y

In the device of Fig. 5, the thrust rod 12 is provided with an extendedcross bar 32 to which are ivoted the toggle links 33, 34 and theselinlis at their meetin point are mounted directly on the one si e uponthe cylinder 35 and on the other to its piston rod 36. The links beingfixedly pivoted at 37, and the cylinder hangin free or slidinglysupported, it will beevi dent that when air 15 a mitted to the front ofthe c linder its piston rod will be drawn inwardly and thus draw in thelinks and thrust the bar 12 forward, and that when the motion iscompleted the links will stand in alined position, so that there is adirect thrust against the anchorage oints and no strain upon the clinder. hen the air is let ofi', the cylin er will return to normalposition.

The above description will make the operation evident and it is notedthat by this means a series of these brakes bein placed on the switchesof a railway yar as described in my prior ap lication, any car may bestopped or retar ed at an one of these points esired, and may be reeased at will, all operating from the central tower. The operator mayinstantly and accurately control the movements of the car by varying thepower of the solenoid, or by varying the air pressure as is customary inthe case of air-brakes. But any brake may be set to work automaticallywithout any attention and may be retained in closed position as long asdesired. Other advantages will readily occur to those familiar with theart.

Having thus described my invention and illustrated its use, what I claimas new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is the followin 1. "hecombination with a track brake of automatic means controlled by the carwheel to close the brake upon the wheels when the wheels enter thebrake.

2. The combination of a track brake'and a compressed air cylinder tooperate it, and means operated by the car wheel, to cause the aircylinder to throw on the brake.

3. The combination of a pair of track brake bars, an operating barhaving connections to move the brake bars, a compressed air cylinderadapted to actuate the operating bar, and electric devices forcontrolling the cylinder from a distance.

4. A track brake and electric means for controlling it, and connectionsby which the car itself makes the electric circuit.

5. A track brake having an operating bar and links an operating motorand connections between the motor and operating bar by which theefi'ective ower of the action increases as the brake clhses.

6. The combination with a track brake and an operating rod therefor, ofan air cylinder connected to said rod by links which take all thethrustwhen the brake is closed.

7. The combination with a track brake and an operating rod therefor, ofan air cylinder connected to said rod by links, said links being adaptedto increase their leverage a ainst the rod as the brake approaches closeposition.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunder si ned my name in the presence ofthe two su scribed witnesses.

JOHN BAIRI) ATWOOI).

\Vitnesses:

F. W. H. CLAY, FRED STAUB.

